Supreme Court hears Oting firing case, issues notice to Centre

DIMAPUR — The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home Affairs in connection with the December 2021 firing incident in Oting, Nagaland, where 13 civilians were killed by security forces.

According to an update from the state Advocate General on Monday, the incident, which saw the deaths of six mine workers and seven others who later intercepted vehicles carrying the deceased, led to the registration of an FIR and the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Despite the completion of a detailed investigation by SIT and submission of its report, the Department of Military Affairs under the Ministry of Defence denied sanction to prosecute the 30 army personnel implicated in the case.

Consequently, the Nagaland government, represented by Advocate General KN Balagopal and his team, filed a petition with the Supreme Court.

On Monday, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra heard the petition and issued a notice to both the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home Affairs, it said.

As per the update, the points raised in the petition were that the leader of the army officers involved in the incident was given caution by his sepoy, through a known source, that the underground factions were not in Tiru Bridge but were operating from Wapnyu side, which is a different location.

“In spite of the caution, he went ahead with the operation, resulting in killing of 6 mine workers, 7 villagers and injuring another 14,” it said.

The petition also emphasised that no warning was given before the firing, which is a violation of legal protocol. Additionally, it contended that even if a warning was given, it should have been delivered in the local language, which was not done.

Among others, the petition also cited the landmark case of Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) v. Union of India to support its case. The precedent-setting case, it said, held that refusing sanction to prosecute is subject to judicial review and that officers exceeding their authority are not beyond prosecution. It also reinforced the victims’ right to compensation.

Further, the update stated that a separate petition filed by the wife of one of the accused officers seeks to dismiss the SIT report altogether.

It is within this context that the central government has refused to grant the state permission to proceed against the implicated army personnel, further necessitating the Nagaland government’s current petition to overturn the denial of sanction, it added.

It may be mentioned that an army personnel was also killed following a scuffle between the villagers and the paramilitary forces on December 4, and one more civilian the following day, taking the civilian casualties to 14.

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